Department for Transport

Roads: Accidents

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 30 November (HL3685), on what basis they differentiate dogs and cats in the requirements to report accidents.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 requires a driver to stop and report an accident involving horses, cattle, sheep, asses, mules, pigs, goats or dogs, but not cats or wild animals. This requirement arises from their status as working animals rather than as domestic pets.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Liverpool

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the 20 Miles More group's campaign to extend HS2 to Liverpool.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The government recognises that Liverpool is a major city and a significant market. Evidence from Liverpool City Region has been assessed but no decision has yet been made on the Phase Two route other than the route to Crewe.Liverpool will benefit from day one of HS2. Phase One will cut 28 minutes from the journey time between Liverpool and London. Accelerating the line to Crewe will reduce journeys by a further 14 minutes.HS2 will ensure that it maximises the synergies with the Northern Powerhouse, to make the most of the two networks. In this way opportunities may be created for Liverpool to benefit still further.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Council Tax

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to ensure that local authorities with a low council tax base are not disadvantaged in relation to authorities in more affluent areas by the new power to raise council tax by 2 per cent in order partially to offset cuts in social care following the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Government recognises that councils have varying capacity to raise money through council tax. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government set out, in the provisional local government finance settlement 2016-17, proposed changes to rebalance support, including to those authorities with social care responsibilities, by taking into account the main resources available to councils. In particular, he published illustrative allocations for the extra funding we are providing to local authorities for adult social care through the improved Better Care Fund: these allocations directly take into account the council tax-raising capacity of authorities.I refer the noble Lord to information accompanying the Oral Statement made on 17 December, Official Report, Column 2238-2239 (attached).Further details are available on the Government website at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/council-tax-in-2016-to-2017 and https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486708/Core_spending_power_supporting_information.xlsx



Column 2238 -2239
(Word Document, 25.01 KB)

Infrastructure: Planning Permission

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many applications for planning consent for national infrastructure projects have been made since responsibility for determining them passed to the Secretary of State; and whether they will list them by date, decision and the time each one took between the application being made and the decision issued.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: 70 applications for development consent for nationally significant infrastructure projects have been made since responsibility for determining them passed from the Infrastructure Planning Commission to the Secretary of State in 2012. Of these, there have been 46 decisions in total. 45 were taken by the Secretary of State and 1 by the Infrastructure Planning Commission.Of these decisions, the Secretary of State granted development consent for 43 projects and declined 2 applications. The Infrastructure Planning Commission granted development consent for 1.Of the 70 applications, 4 were withdrawn before they reached the decision stage. 20 applications are currently going through the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Planning process. Details of all the applications including the time each one took between application and decision are set out in the attached table.



Decision on Applications
(Word Document, 38.19 KB)

Devolution: Sheffield

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the process of its devolution deal, Sheffield City Region asked for, or was offered, the same powers as Manchester, either for its governance arrangements or for the devolution of powers and monies.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Devolution is bottom-up and led by local areas; proposals are developed by local partners and constitute part of a formal negotiation with the Government. During negotiations, a number of options were discussed with Sheffield City Region, including the Greater Manchester model. The final agreement has been published on the gov.uk website.

Housing

Lord Shipley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the net change in the number of homes in the UK between May 2015 and May 2020.

Lord Shipley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the net change in the number of homes in the UK for social rent between May 2015 and May 2020.

Lord Shipley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the total number of new homes that will be completed in the UK between May 2015 and May 2020.

Lord Shipley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their current estimate of the total number of new homes that will be completed in the UK after May 2020.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: My Department does not publish forecasts of net additions.

Housing: Construction

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of new properties being built, and of the effect that that number is having on house prices.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Statistics on new build housing starts and completions in England are published on the Department's website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/house-building-in-england-july-to-september-2015. The latest figures for July to September 2015 are attached.House prices are determined by the interaction between demand for homes and supply of homes and the latter is determined in large part by the sale of existing properties. As such, there is no simple relationship between house prices and the number of new properties being built.



Latest Figures for July to September 2015
(PDF Document, 7.68 MB)

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Capital Punishment

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether opposition to the death penalty remains a key human rights priority for them, in the light of the UK’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Our UN pledges renew our enduring commitment to promoting universal human rights. This includes work to abolish the death penalty. As I have said repeatedly in this House, this Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and we continue to call on all states to abolish it.

Jerusalem: Planning Permission

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about data revealing that seven per cent of Jerusalem building permits go to Palestinian neighbourhoods.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We frequently bring up the issue of the lack of building permits issued to Palestinians and the challenges this causes to the Palestinians. Most recently, on 24 November our Deputy Head of Mission in Tel Aviv raised the issue with Israel's Head of Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the treatment of Palestinian prisoners, and in particular of Wasim Marouf at Ofer prison.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Although we have not raised Wasim Marouf’s particular case, we remain concerned about Israel’s extensive use of administrative detention and also have concerns about mistreatment of Palestinian detainees. We have raised these concerns with the Israeli authorities on many occasions, including at Foreign Minister, Attorney General and National Security Adviser levels.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 7 December (HL3871), what assessment they have made of the contribution of economic security to achieving peace between Israel and Palestine, and based on that assessment whether they will now raise this issue with the government of Israel.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We assess that economic security is vital and that Palestinians see tangible improvements in their daily lives. That is why we are a leading donor to the Palestinian Authority and why the Department for International Development have put such emphasis on strengthening Palestinian institutions and fostering private sector-led, sustainable economic growth in the West Bank. We do not plan to make representations on the specific issue of the stone factories. However, we regularly raise the need to enable development of the Palestinian economy. On 19 November our Ambassador in Tel Aviv discussed the need to create economic sustainability in the West Bank and Gaza with the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs, Public Security and Information.

West Bank: Arson

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the hospital bills sent to the Palestinian Authority for medical treatment of Ahmad Dawabsha.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not made representations to the Government of Israel on this issue. However, the Government of Israel has confirmed to us that they covered the cost of the medivac. We had also previously understood from contact with the Dawabsheh family that their hospital fees were being met by Israel.

West Bank: Walls and Fences

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the IDF Fence that separates nursing ewes from their lambs at Qalqilyah in the West Bank.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: While we have not discussed this specific incident with the Israeli authorities, we remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv raised the issue of freedom of movement with Israeli National Security Advisor Cohen on 2 November. Our Consul-General in Jerusalem also raised this issue with the Mayor of Jerusalem on 28 October.

Syria: Politics and Government

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they were represented as observers or otherwise at the conference in al-Hassakeh on 8–9 December that formed the Council of Democratic Syria; and what assessment they have made of that conference's final statement.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK was not an observer or participant at the Democratic Syria Conference for Opposition Forces. The UK does not have any diplomatic presence in Syria and staff are unable to travel to Syria due to significant security threats. This conference brought together Syrian Kurdish and Arab parties that reside in Northern Syria. They discussed the future of the country after four years of war and agreed on the creation of the Syrian Democratic Council, the political branch of the Syrian Democratic Forces. Their final statement says that the Syrian crisis must be solved through negotiation, the fight against terrorism and political change through a transition, followed by free and fair elections and a new constitution. The UK continues to work towards transition in Syria on the basis of the Geneva Communiqué.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Apprentices

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) 16 year olds, (2) 17 year olds, and (3) 18 year olds, started an apprenticeship in (a) England, and (b) each region in England in the latest period for which figures are available.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Table 1 shows Apprenticeship starts in 2014/15 by learners aged 16-18 by region and age.Table 1: 16-18 Apprenticeship starts by age and region, 2014/15RegionAge161718North East1,8502,9103,820North West4,7106,6608,620Yorkshire and the Humber3,6705,5007,200East Midlands2,9704,4105,450West Midlands2,9604,9606,490East of England2,9704,0705,580London1,8203,3504,810South East3,5605,3607,270South West3,1104,3105,740England Total27,60041,50055,000Other400530620Grand Total28,00042,10055,600Notes:1) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10 except totals which are rounded to the nearest hundred.2) Age is calculated based on age at start of the programme.3) Age is based upon self-declaration by the learner.4) Region is based upon the home postcode of the learner. Where the postcode is outside of England, learners are included in the 'Other' category. Where postcode is not known this is also included in the 'Other' category.5) These figures are based on the geographic boundaries of regions as of May 2010.

Adult Education: Finance

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the annual £210 million ring-fenced funding for adult community education is to be continued; and if not, what level of funding such community education will receive in future.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: We have protected the core adult skills participation budget in cash terms, at £1.5 billion. Further details on what the settlement means for the Further Education sector is set out in the Skills Funding Letter.

Department for International Development

Syria: International Assistance

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that women and civil society groups are included in proceedings at the Syria Donors' Conference in February 2016.

Baroness Verma: On 16 November, the Prime Minister announced that the UK, Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the United Nations would co-host a conference on the Syria crisis in London on 4 February 2016. The Conference on “Supporting Syria and the Region” will address immediate and longer-term needs of those affected by the conflict. It will include a strong focus on the situation inside Syria, the very human impact on women, girls and youth and ways we can protect them from harm.On the day before the event we are supporting a large gathering of civil society, from which a cross-section, including representation of women and girls, will contribute to discussions in the conference.

Overseas Aid

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of the Department for International Development aid budget will be spent by other departments.

Baroness Verma: As part of the 2015/16 Main Estimate process the Department for International Development transferred £258m of its International Aid budget to other Government Departments.This figure excludes the Conflict Security and Stability Fund, which is a £1.033bn cross departmental fund, £883m of which sits on the Department for International Developments baseline. £823m of this was then transferred to other government departments as directed by the National Security Council.

Overseas Aid: Health Services

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their plans for the Department for International Development to invest in addressing Aids, tuberculosis, and malaria globally from 2016 onwards.

Baroness Verma: The UK government is committed to remaining a world leader in tackling global diseases and ending the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria by 2030. We are already working towards this goal through our substantial investment to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria which has saved 17 million lives. We are currently undertaking a number of internal reviews to ensure we are in the right place to deliver our objectives and maximise our value for money and impact. Our future contributions to the Global Fund and country programmes are being considered as part of this. We will lay out further investment plans in the future.

Ethiopia: Droughts

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the drought and food shortage in Ethiopia, and what support is being offered to those affected.

Baroness Verma: DFID has been following the evolution of the drought and its impact since the middle of 2015, working with the Government of Ethiopia, the UN system and other donors to compile and assess information on rainfall, production and food and non-food needs. On December 11th the Government and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a Humanitarian Requirements Document (HRD) which assessed that 10.2 million people would need emergency food assistance in the first half of 2016 due to the effects of the drought. This is on top of the 8 million Ethiopians who are chronically food insecure, and who already receive multi-year support through the Government’s rural public works programme. 5.8 million people require assistance obtaining clean water, health and sanitation; and a projected 400,000 children will require treatment for severe malnutrition.The UK Government has provided one of the earliest and largest packages of assistance to tackle the effects of the drought. In July, DFID provided £45 million to the response, which provided food to 2.3 million people; nutritional support to 258,000 severely malnourished children; and assistance to water, sanitation and health needs of the drought-affected communities.

Developing Countries: Natural Disasters

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of people, including children, who continue to suffer the consequences of predictable and preventable disasters globally, and what assessment they have made of the case for Disaster Risk Reduction being included in all development assistance programmes in high-risk countries.

Baroness Verma: DFID uses the global assessment undertaken by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology for Disasters (CRED). CRED estimates that in 2014 107.3 million people were affected by disasters caused by natural hazards such as drought, earthquakes and floods. A DFID funded report recognises that, although there is limited available data, women and children are disproportionately affected by disasters.In 2012 DFID undertook a study which highlighted the case to invest in measures to build resilience to natural hazards, including Disaster Risk Reduction. The study proved that investing in disaster resilience in advance of shocks or in the early stages of a crisis saves lives and is more cost-effective than humanitarian aid provided after a disaster strikes. It found that, for instance, in Kenya, over a 20 year period, every $1 spent on disaster resilience resulted in $2.90 saved in the form of reduced humanitarian aid, avoided losses and development gains. Since 2011 DFID has undertaken a process to embed disaster resilience in all our country programmes, resulting in the inclusion of disaster risk reduction when appropriate. The Political Champions for Resilience Group has ensured building resilience has been institutionalised in donors, aid agencies and national governments. Strengthening resilience and response to crises is one of the four priorities of the 2015 UK Aid Strategy, Tackling Global Challenges in the National Interest.

Overseas Aid

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether priority in distributing aid will be given to those who are hard to reach, in the light of the new Sustainable Development Goals commitment to "leave no-one behind".

Baroness Verma: The new UKAid strategy ‘Tackling global challenges in the national interest’ reiterates DFID’s commitment to tackling extreme poverty and helping the world’s most vulnerable, including hard to reach groups, which helps to build security, stability and opportunity that benefits all. Strategic Objective 4 outlines the UK Government’s ambition to be a world leader in implementing the promise to “Leave No One Behind”, as was agreed by the Prime Minister and other world leaders at UNGA in September 2015. To deliver our strategy, we will prioritise work that targets the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, the most excluded, those caught in crises, and those most at risk of violence and discrimination.We have also made the commitment that at least 50% of all DFID’s spending is to be allocated to fragile states and regions. Fragile and conflict-affected countries typically have the highest poverty rates and in the future, extreme poverty is likely to be concentrated in fragile countries.

Department for Education

Equal Pay

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking to promote equal pay for women in the workplace.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Unequal pay for equal work is unlawful, and it has been for over 40 years. We have made changes that require employment tribunals to order any employer who loses an equal pay case to carry out an equal pay audit.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Service: Counter-terrorism

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) how many prison staff, and (2) what proportion of prison staff, have received Prevent awareness training for each (a) prison, and (b) young offender institution.

Lord Faulks: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has a range of Prevent awareness training and briefing packages available for staff. Since April 2015 data has been collated recording the amount of training provided to staff in prisons and probation on extremism awareness.Between April 2015 and September 2015, 4,100 hours of training were delivered to over 4,900 staff in prisons directly managed by NOMS. The training is targeted at staff in prisoner facing roles. A further 650 staff from contracted establishments have also received training during this period. There figures do not include any staff trained before April 2015.Since April 2015 new Prison Officers receive Extremism Awareness Training as part of their entry level training, a total of 1,566 since this date.Some of the training sessions described above were delivered to staff from more than one prison and therefore to provide information on proportions of staff trained from each establishment would involve disproportionate cost.

Legal Aid Scheme: Telephone Services

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much revenue has been raised from call charging associated with the legal aid telephone gateway.

Lord Faulks: Between March 2014 and January 2015 the LAA phased out the use of 0845 access numbers for CLA and replaced them with 0345 numbers. This means there is a single national point of contact for CLA without callers having to pay extra to call them.Calls to 03 numbers cost no more than a national rate call to a 01 or 02 number and count towards inclusive minutes in the same way as 01 and 02 calls. This applies to calls from any type of line including mobile, fixed line or payphone. The LAA provides clear information about the costs of making a call. Individuals can also check whether they may qualify for legal aid via a free digital service on gov.uk before requesting a call back. They also have the option of asking CLA staff to make a return call.

Civil Proceedings: Legal Aid Scheme

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will provide statistics detailing civil legal aid claims and grants by sector broken down by protected characteristics since January 2010.

Lord Faulks: Legal aid is a vital part of our justice system, but we cannot escape the continuing need to reduce the deficit. The Coalition Government reformed legal aid to reduce its cost and ensure the system commands the confidence of the public. As part of our public sector equality duty, the Legal Aid Agency has made it a contractual requirement that providers have an Equality and Diversity policy in place.The number of civil claims by sector broken down for protected characteristics are shown in the tables below for the period 2010-11 to 2014-15. Figures for grants or applications at this level of detail are not held for the Legal Help and Controlled Legal Representation categories of civil legal aid and so figures for grants have not been provided.The not for profit sector providers are shown based on the administrative system classification and all other providers are classified as solicitor firms. Where values for the protected characteristics are not held, unknown or the claimant has preferred not to state their answer, they are included within the unknown category.The MoJ routinely publishes statistics on client characteristics for each area of legal aid on an annual basis on the government website.



Civil legal aid claims by protected characteristic
(Word Document, 101.5 KB)

Prisons: Drugs

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the quantities and types of drugs found in each prison, and the additional sentences given to those caught.

Lord Faulks: We take a zero tolerance approach to drugs in prison.Strict measures are in place to tackle visitors who smuggle or attempt to smuggle drugs into prison. This includes arrest and prosecution where there is sufficient evidence. Likewise, any prisoner found in possession of drugs will face disciplinary action, which could include a further prosecution and sentence.In addition, as of 10 November 2015, we have introduced new laws so that those who smuggle packages, including new psychoactive substances, over prison walls will face up to two years in custody.NOMS collects data on drug finds on a central database. Historically, this data has not included retrievable information on the quantity of the drug find. In October 2015, changes were made to reporting forms to improve data collection to include quantity. The tables below provide figures for (a) the quantities and (b) the types of drugs found in prisons in England and Wales over a two month period between October and November 2015.It is not always possible to attribute a drug find to an individual prisoner. In those cases where a drug find has been attributed to a particular prisoner, NOMS does not collate centrally information on any additional sentences handed down and to do so would involve disproportionate cost.Notes to Tables:All figures in this answer have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The data are not subject to audit.It is important to note that many seizures are similar in appearance and require chemical testing to determine precise type. Drugs marked as “unknown” in table 2 have not been tested.



Incidents where drugs were found in prisons
(Excel SpreadSheet, 68 KB)

Prison Governors

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage of, prison governors have worked at two or more prisons in the last five years.

Lord Faulks: Of the governors of public sector prisons in post at 30 September 2015, a total of 90 (85%) had worked at two or more prisons in the previous five years.

Young Offender Institutions

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total spent, above basic salaries, on staff on detached duty at young offender institutions in England and Wales in each month between October 2014 and October 2015 inclusive.

Lord Faulks: The deployment of staff between prisons on detached duty is a regular and normal part of prison resourcing. It allows staff to be allocated from prisons with the capacity to provide them, to those where additional staffing is required. The total amount spent on staff on detached duties above basic salaries could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Voluntary Work

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many volunteers there are currently carrying out work in each prison in England and Wales.

Lord Faulks: This information is not held centrally. The Ministry of Justice facilitates a wide and varied range of opportunities for volunteers to work with offenders, within prisons and in the community, and also directly recruits volunteers to sit on its Independent Monitoring Boards.

Prisoner Escapes

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prisoners who have previously absconded remain in open conditions.

Lord Faulks: In May 2014, the Coalition Government introduced a new policy so that prisoners with a history of escape, absconding or serious temporary release failure during the current sentence are prevented from transfer to open conditions, other than in the most exceptional circumstances. There has been only one case satisfying the condition of exceptional circumstances since the policy was implemented. In addition, any prisoner who absconds from an open prison is immediately returned to a higher security prison.When the policy was implemented, it was not applied retrospectively. Prisoners already in open conditions were reassessed by senior officials in the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), and any who were assessed as presenting an unacceptable risk in such conditions in light of their previous non-compliance were returned to closed prisons, with the remainder allowed to remain in open conditions because of their compliance with the regime and favourable risk assessment.On 4 December 2015, there were 15 prisoners in open prisons who were recorded as having absconded between 1 April 2004 and 21 May 2014 when the policy change came into force.Reliable electronic records for absconds and temporary release failures prior to 2004 are not available, therefore only incidents since 2004 could be considered. The data set used here includes prisons classified as having their predominant function to be open. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many offenders who are foreign nationals are currently serving a sentence for murder or manslaughter in prisons in England and Wales.

Lord Faulks: Foreign criminals who break our laws should be properly punished but not at the expense of the British taxpayer.In the last year we have returned more than 5,000 foreign prisoners to their home country. Prisoner transfer agreements are just one way the Government can remove these criminals from the United Kingdom.As at 30 September 2015, there were 732 foreign nationals serving a sentence for murder or manslaughter in prisons in England and Wales.

Prisoner Escapes

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prisoners recorded as taking car driving lessons or tests in the last five years absconded or attempted to abscond during a lesson or test.

Lord Faulks: There is no record of any offender failing to return to prison from temporary release which was authorised to allow them to take driving lessons or tests in the past five years.  Release on temporary licence is designed to prepare prisoners for their eventual release. Public protection is our priority and all offenders considered for temporary release are fully risk assessed.   Prisoners are only permitted to take a driving lesson or test if this is required to help their rehabilitation, for example, by improving their employment prospects, thus reducing their likelihood of reoffending.

Radicalism

Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people have undergone the programme of deradicalisation referred to as the Healthy Identities Intervention since it was accredited; how many people are awaiting access to the programme; which establishments currently offer the programme; and how many programmes are being offered at each establishment, including the number of individuals able to access each course.

Lord Faulks: The Healthy Identity Intervention (HII) has not been accredited by the Correctional Services Advice & Accreditation panel (CSAAP) as it is not compatible with the criteria currently used.There have been 65 HII completions since its pilot in 2010-11. Sixteen people are currently undertaking HII. There are currently 15 people waiting to begin the intervention. This can be for a number of reasons, including involvement in other offender behaviour programmes, or mental health problems.Healthy Identity is targeted at those convicted under the terrorism legislation where extremism was their primary motive. Where violence is the primary motive, other Offender Behaviour programmes may be used. Healthy Identity Interventions is not commissioned for specific establishments in the same way as other offending behaviour programmes. HII is available widely across England and Wales prisons and probation services. It is delivered by trained chartered psychologists and experienced probation officers. There are currently 145 trained HII facilitators.

Prisoners: Voting Rights

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take in response to the judgment of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Hirst v The United Kingdom (No. 2) Application 74025/01, and the interim resolution of 9 December of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe expressing "profound concern that the blanket ban on the right of convicted prisoners in custody to vote remains in place."

Lord Faulks: We have consistently made clear that prisoner voting is a matter for parliament to determine.

Prisons: Visits

Baroness Howe of Idlicote: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of Barnardo's recent report Locked Out: Children's experiences of visiting a parent in prison, in particular claims that visits by children to fathers who are in prison are severely restricted.

Baroness Howe of Idlicote: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to implement the recommendations in Barnardo's recent report Locked Out: Children's experiences of visiting a parent in prison.

Baroness Howe of Idlicote: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation of Barnardo's in the recent report Locked Out: Children's experiences of visiting a parent in prison, that visits by children to fathers in prison should be removed from the incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme.

Baroness Howe of Idlicote: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve the conditions for children visiting a parent in prison, in the light of Barnardo's recent report Locked Out: Children's experiences of visiting a parent in prison.

Lord Faulks: The Government agrees that strong family ties are an important part of helping prisoners turn away from crime, and the recommendations from the recent Barnardo’s report are currently being considered in the context of the wider prison reforms.All convicted prisoners have a long-standing statutory entitlement to a minimum of two visits every 28 days. In addition, prisoners may also be rewarded with additional visits for good behaviour and for engaging with their rehabilitation.

Lord Chancellor

Lord Norton of Louth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to issue a revised response to the report from the Constitution Committee The office of Lord Chancellor (6th Report, session 2014–15, HL Paper 75).

Lord Faulks: I welcomed the opportunity to participate in the excellent debate on this issue in July of last year, and the Lord Chancellor was similarly grateful for the opportunity to discuss his role during his annual evidence session to the Committee in December. We have no plans to revise the written response provided by the previous administration to the Committee's report.

Ministry of Defence

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they estimate to be the flying costs, including maintenance, of the (1) F-35A, and (2) F-35B, aircraft.

Earl Howe: The Ministry of Defence has made an estimate of the flying and maintenance cost of the UK's F-35B but I am withholding this information as its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice commercial interests.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Children

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the documentation for the application of the family test to the policy to limit means-tested financial support to the first two children in the family, in line with the Department for Work and Pensions' guidance on the family test; and if not, why not.

Lord Freud: The Government has fully considered the family test criteria as an integral part of the policy development process. The published assessment of impacts of the measures in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill incorporates these considerations.

Diabetes

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether diabetes is defined as a disability, and if so, what assessment they have made of the impact of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on diabetics in the UK.

Lord Freud: Under the Equality Act 2010 a person has a disability if he or she has a physical or mental impairment and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Diabetes is a long term health condition and how disabling it is for people will vary depending on, amongst other things, severity and how well it is managed. The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. These are available on the Parliament website.

Personal Independence Payment

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Altmann on 4 December (HL3783) that the Personal Independence Payment assessment criteria were "designed in close collaboration with disabled people and disability groups", whether they will now take into account the responses to the consultation held separately between 24 June and 5 August 2013 on the moving around criteria.

Baroness Altmann: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 21 December 2015.The correct answer should have been:

The full public consultation on the ‘Moving around’ activity of the mobility component closed on 5 August 2013. We received more than 1,100 responses. We carefully considered all the responses received, including the suggestions for alternative approaches. We published our response to the consultation on 21 October 2013.We believe the assessment criteria, including the 20 metres distance, are the best way of identifying those whose physical mobility is most limited, so we did not make any changes. However, we have strengthened the measures around the reliability criteria – we recognise these are a key protection for claimants.Our response to the consultation is annexed to this answer.



Annex "Moving around activity"
(PDF Document, 337.47 KB)

Baroness Altmann: The full public consultation on the ‘Moving around’ activity of the mobility component closed on 5 August 2013. We received more than 1,100 responses. We carefully considered all the responses received, including the suggestions for alternative approaches. We published our response to the consultation on 21 October 2013.We believe the assessment criteria, including the 20 metres distance, are the best way of identifying those whose physical mobility is most limited, so we did not make any changes. However, we have strengthened the measures around the reliability criteria – we recognise these are a key protection for claimants.Our response to the consultation is annexed to this answer.



Annex "Moving around activity"
(PDF Document, 337.47 KB)

Personal Independence Payment

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have introduced a requirement for health professionals involved in the Personal Independence Payment assessment to confirm that they have referred to the reliability criteria when formulating their advice.

Baroness Altmann: The guidance for health professionals undertaking assessments for Personal Independence Payment specifies that for a descriptor to be able to apply to a claimant, the claimant must be able to complete the activity reliably i.e. safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period. For a report to be considered fully acceptable it must include confirmation that the health professional has fully considered these reliability criteria.

Personal Independence Payment

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have revisited the Personal Independence Payment assessment moving around guidance on reliability to ensure that that guidance captures real-life situations and that the criteria are applied consistently and fairly.

Baroness Altmann: The PIP Assessment Guide for Health Professionals carrying out assessments includes guidance on the assessment criteria and how they should be applied. The guide is regularly reviewed to ensure that the criteria is applied consistently and fairly.Chapter 3 – ‘The Assessment Criteria’ (page 73) explains how to apply the reliability criteria, including in the ‘Moving Around’ activity. We have also provided a worked example to further assist health professionals.The latest version of the guide is annexed to this answer.



Annex "PIP Assessment Guide"
(PDF Document, 667.54 KB)

Social Security Benefits: Children

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many kinship care households they estimate will be affected by the combined impact of the proposals in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill to limit child tax credit to two children and to reduce the benefit cap in each year between 2016 and 2021; what is their estimate of the cost of exempting kinship care households from those measures; and what impact assessment has been carried out as to how many potential kinship carers may be unable to afford to take on the children as a result of those measures and any consequential cost to the state of such children remaining in the care system.

Lord Freud: It is fair that families on benefits have to make the same financial decisions as families supporting themselves solely through work. These measures are being actively discussed in the Committee stage of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill (as the Minister informed the House) and there will be further discussion at the Report stage.

Universal Credit: Young People

Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the cost in each year between 2016 and 2021 of young parents under 25 years old, who are single claimants and care leavers, receiving the same rate of standard allowance in universal credit as single claimants who are parents aged 25 years old; and how many people this would affect.

Lord Freud: The information requested is not available.

Employment: Learning Disability

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage the full-time employment of adults with special learning needs, and what assessment they have made of how successful those measures have been in 2015.

Baroness Altmann: Increasing disability employment is a key part of the government’s aim to achieve full employment. That is why this Government has an ambition to halve the disability employment gap by creating the opportunity for a million more disabled people to work.The Government has a variety of initiatives and programmes in place to support and encourage people with special learning needs to find and retain work. Performance statistics are published for a number of these.For example:Access to Work provides on-going personalised in-work support for disabled people who are in work or about to start work on a full or part-time basis. Access to Work has had a Hidden Impairments Specialist Advisory team since September. We are also considering whether the Mental Health Support Service model of support could benefit those with hidden impairments other than mental health conditions. Last year Access to Work supported record numbers of people with a Learning Disability or Dyslexia recorded as their Primary Health Condition (6,580 people supported – 520 more people than in 2013/14).The most recent Access to Work statistics are attached at Annex A.Work Choice is a specialist disability employment programme which provides tailored support for disabled people who face the most complex employment barriers to find and stay in work. DWP has improved the referral process for Work Choice to ensure that information about candidates’ hidden impairments is shared with Work Choice providers. In 2014/15, 5,670 people with a Mild or Moderate to Severe Learning Disability recorded as their Primary Disability were referred to Work Choice. Since 2010, 19,410 people with a Mild or Moderate to Severe Learning Disability recorded as their Primary Disability have started Work Choice, of whom 8,600 have started work – giving a job outcome rate of around 44% for this group.The most recent Work Choice statistics are attached at Annex B.The Government’s Disability Confident campaign works with employers at a national and local level to help them to understand the benefits of employing disabled people, and promote good practice in recruitment and employment of disabled people, including people with special learning needs.DWP also works in close partnership with the Hidden Impairment National Group (HING), a national network of disabled people, medical professionals/ academics and disability specific organisations. This collaboration has produced an ‘Uncovering Hidden Impairments’ toolkit, which supports organisations in both the private and public sectors to confidently recruit and retain talented individuals with hidden impairment conditions, such as special learning needs.Jobcentre Plus continues to offer a range of support, including a free helpline for claimants who have difficulty making claims for benefit online because of dyslexia or similar conditions. DWP is working in partnership with Autism Alliance UK to build an autism network across Jobcentre Plus by training nominated autism leads, including Work Coaches and DEAs.We have worked with Community Service Volunteers to introduce the Job-Shadowing Work Placement Initiative for young disabled people, including those with special learning needs. The first tranche had a 65% participation rate for young people having autistic spectrum conditions



Access to Work
(PDF Document, 134.6 KB)




Work Choice
(PDF Document, 145.68 KB)

Building Alterations: Accidents

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of people being killed by buildings collapsing as a result of subterranean excavations carried out in order to increase accommodation.

Baroness Altmann: In the last 10 years, no people have been killed by buildings collapsing during subterranean excavation work to increase accommodation. Subterranean excavation to increase accommodation involves significant health and safety risks, including the potential for the collapse of both excavated ground and buildings. There have been two deaths caused by collapsing excavated ground during construction of subterranean accommodation. The Health and Safety Executive’s construction programme has initiatives aimed at improving standards in this type of construction work, including targeted inspection and enforcement campaigns.

Access to Work Programme

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Access to Work scheme can fund, or help fund, the installation of a disabled toilet in a workplace.

Baroness Altmann: Access to Work is able to help with adaptations to Premises and Equipment.In all cases where adaptations to premises are required, advisers will look to see what reasonable adjustment has first been made in accordance with employers obligations under the Equality Act.Dependent on the size of the business, an employer contribution may also be sought.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Flood Control: Expenditure

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much money has been spent on flood defences in each year from 2010.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The amount of capital investment on flood defences in each year from 2010 is shown below:Financial yearCapital investment on flood defence excluding the exceptional funding provided as a result of the 2013/14 floods (£m)Exceptional funding provided as a result of the 2013/14 floods (£m)2010/11364.92011/12260.72012/13269.12013/14295.325.02014/15353.3125.0

Soil

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they currently monitor soil quality in the UK, including soil organic matter content, soil loss and the extent and severity of soil compaction; and if so, what data are available.

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether there are sufficient data to create an accurate baseline of soil quality in the UK from which to measure improvement or degradation.

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what targets are in place to improve soil quality in UK agricultural land.

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what body, institution or group is responsible for measuring and analysing UK soils through soil testing, and whether such soil testing is regulated.

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the effectiveness of UK soil protection policies, such as those contained in their cross compliance guidance, is evaluated, and what improvements have been seen as a result of such policies.

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what options have been considered to produce a UK-wide map of soils, including the potential for the private sector to invest in such a scheme.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The 2007 Countryside Survey measured changes in soil organic matter content of soils in Great Britain. It also measured bulk density and a number of other physical and chemical characteristics of soil. A new baseline survey for soil carbon was carried out in 2009 as part of the EU Land Cover and Land Use Statistics (LUCAS) exercise. The 2015 LUCAS soil samples are currently being analysed.Defra does not routinely monitor national rates of soil loss (erosion), but we are funding research to pilot a national soil erosion monitoring framework for monitoring soil erosion in England and Wales.Defra also funded a survey of soil compaction levels in grasslands in England and Wales in 2011.No formal assessment has been made of the sufficiency of the baseline data from which to measure changes in soil quality.The Government recognises that soil is essential for underpinning a range of benefits, including food production, but also biodiversity, carbon storage and flood protection.While the future direction of soils policy will be considered as part of the development of the 25 year plans for Food and Farming, and Environment, government is already taking action to improve soil quality.This includes new rules underpinning cross compliance which anyone claiming Common Agricultural Policy payments must comply with. The rules require a minimum level of soil cover, prevention of erosion and measures to protect the organic matter levels of soil. The new rules take an outcome based approach, instead of the previous paper-based system, thereby focussing on environmental improvements while reducing burdens for farmers. The Government will continue to monitor the implementation of the new rules.No single body or institution has responsibility for measuring and analysing soils in the UK. Soil testing is carried out by a mix of commercial laboratories and Public Analyst labs. Typically laboratories are accredited and adhere to British Standards on testing procedures. However, there are no regulations governing soil testing procedures themselves.There are existing soil maps for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, which use different soil classifications. There are currently no plans to produce a new UK soil map, and we have not explored options for private sector investment.

Fisheries: Quotas

Baroness Parminter: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review the UK's fishing quota, in particular with regard to whether small-scale fishermen receive a fair share of that quota.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government remains committed to fishing sustainably and supporting the UK’s inshore fleet. Defra is in the final stages of concluding a quota realignment exercise which, when complete, will represent a 14% uplift in the amount of quota the inshore fleet currently receives. Quota units which were under-utilised by Producer Organisations (POs) in 2012 were identified for re-allocation. Three quarters of the Fisheries Quota Allocations relating to underutilised quota from POs has now been permanently realigned to the inshore fleet, with the balance to be completed as soon as possible.The Government has also taken steps to support England’s inshore fleet under the landing obligation, or discard ban. The demersal landing obligation comes into force on 1 January 2016, following the successful introduction of a discard ban for pelagic fisheries in 2015. The introduction of the demersal landing obligation will be phased in for all quota fisheries between 2016 and 2019. The discard plans for 2016 introduce landing obligations for clearly defined fisheries, including haddock, whiting, sole, Nephrops, hake and plaice.As a result of vessels no longer being able to discard, an uplift in quota will be awarded to fishermen so they can land formerly discarded fish. The allocation of quota uplift is a devolved matter, and Minister Eustice announced the Government’s policy for allocating quota uplift for the English fleet in October this year.In 2016, the non-sector pools will receive the first 100 tonnes of any quota uplift received and then 10% of any remainder, before the rest is issued to the POs on behalf of their members. Defra consulted on the implementation of the demersal landing obligation and responses indicate that the inshore fleets have high discard rates as a result of low quotas. The Government considers this quota uplift to go some way to helping small-scale fishermen adapt to the first year of the demersal discard ban.As the landing obligation represents the largest change in fisheries management for a generation, it is important that we continue to support all our vessels as they adapt to this significant change. We must therefore take stock of all that is going on in fisheries management before any further decisions are made with regard to quota reallocation in the future.

Dredging: Waste Disposal

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what licences and permissions have been granted for the dumping of dredged material in the sea off Lantic Bay, east of Fowey in Cornwall.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) licences the disposal of dredged material at sea under the Marine and Coastal access Act 2009.Lantic Bay (PL060) is an approved disposal site that has been in use for a number of years. Since vesting the MMO has issued three licences for disposing dredged material at the Lantic Bay disposal site:Licence L/2011/00050 to Fowey Harbour Commissioners for the disposal of 45,000 tonnes of sediment per year. The licence was for a period of three years starting on 27th May 2011 and expired on 26th May 2014;Licence L/2014/00146 to Fowey Harbour Commissioners for the disposal of 80,000 tonnes of sediment per year. This licence commenced on 1st May 2014 and is valid for 10 years;Finally, licence L/2013/00396/4 to the Victoria Wharf Group Ltd for the disposal of 10,000 tonnes of sediment from Corporation Wharf, Plymouth valid from 1st November 2015 to 28th February 2016.

Home Office

Care Homes: Children

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 25 November (HL3916) concerning the 49 closed files with "children's home" and "London" in the catalogue description, to which care homes those files relate.

Lord Bates: Of the 49 references to ‘children’s home’ and ‘London’ in the National Archives catalogue description, some relate to open files and one to a home in London Road, Gloucester.Once these have been discounted and allowing for homes which have more than one closed file, those children’s homes operated by London boroughs which have files identified as closed at The National Archives are as follows:100 Balgores Lane Children's Home Gidea Park4 King Edwards Grove Children's Home, Teddington44 Princess Road Children's Home Teddington54 Muswell Avenue Children's Home, Muswell Hill68 King Edwards Grove Children's Home, Teddington69 Kingston Lane Children's Home Teddington7 The Ride Children's Home, Brentford74 Goshawk Gardens Children's Home, Hayes8/26 Crescent Road, South Woodford, London E1882 Muswell Avenue Children's Home, Muswell Hill9 Whitley Road Children's Home, Tottenham, N17Abbey Wood Estate Children's Home 242 Panfield Road, London SE2Abbeywood Estate Children's Home 52 Chalcombe Road, London SE2Britwell Estate Small Children's Home, 2 Dove House Crescent, Britwell, BucksBritwell Estate Small Children's Home, 270 Longfurlong Drive, Britwell, BucksChevington Children's Home, 25 Warham Road, Croydon, SurreyDeaconbank Children's Home, 80 Aldersbrook, Wanstead London E11Derwent House Children's Home, 10 Armdel Gardens, Winchmore HillDr Barnardo's Children's Home and Mission, 8-26 Crescent Road, South Woodford, London E18Hoblands Children's Home, Carlton Road, Sidcup, KentLangley House Children's Home 54 East India Dock Road, London E14St Paul's Cray Estate Small Children's Home. 41 Highfield Road Chislehurst, KentWestleigh Children's Home 6 Dartmouth Park Avenue, London NW5Wood Vale Children's Home 32 Elder Road, West Norwood London SE 27Woodlands Children's Home 12 Charterhouse Road, Godalming, Surrey

Domestic Violence: Asians

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the incidence of domestic violence and rape against wives from Asia, and whether in making that assessment they have identified any trend.

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the changes in the rates of incidence of domestic violence and rape between 2005 and 2015.

Lord Bates: This government is committed to tackling violence against women and girls. We want victims to have the confidence to report these crimes, knowing they will get the support they need and that everything will be done to bring offenders to justice.The 2014/15 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimates that 6.1% of adults aged 16 to 59 experienced any form of domestic abuse in the last year, down from 8.9% in the 2004/05 survey. While the latest estimate is not statistically significantly different from recent years, it is the lowest since these questions were first asked in 2004/05.The 2014/15 CSEW also estimates that 0.3% of adults aged 16 to 59 had been a victim of rape (including attempts) in the last year. Due to the low number of respondents to the survey that have been a victim of this crime, it is not possible to say whether this estimate differs from surveys conducted in other years. However, prevalence of less serious sexual assault has fallen from 2.3% in the 2004/05 CSEW to 1.5% in the 2014/15 survey.Data from the CSEW cannot be disaggregated by ethnicity, nor by the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim.

HM Treasury

Social Security Benefits: Children

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which countries limit financial support for children by the number of dependent children.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The national systems for supporting families in and out of work are very different between countries and it is thus difficult to compare one system with another. Many countries do not have means-tested supplements for children.The Government believes that the welfare system needs to be fair to taxpayers as well as benefit claimants, which includes ensuring that families on benefits make the same sort of financial decisions about the number of children they can afford to have as families supporting themselves solely through work.In 2011 the UK spent more on family benefits than Germany, France or Sweden. The UK spent more than double the OECD average on cash benefits to families according to OBR’s welfare trends report 2015.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Carbon Emissions

Baroness Worthington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to undertake a review of the Emissions Performance Standard under section 66 of the Energy Act 2013.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Section 66 of the Energy Act 2013 requires the Emissions Performance Standard to be reviewed as soon as reasonably practicable after December 2018.

Energy

Viscount Ridley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will continue to honour the commitment of the Coalition Government to publish an Annual Energy Statement, including estimated impacts of energy and climate policies on energy prices and bills, last published in November 2014.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: In November, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out her priorities for energy and climate change policy for the coming Parliament. On the same day DECC Ministers published an update which set out recent progress made across the main responsibilities of the Department. The update is available on the DECC website.

Cabinet Office

Electoral Register

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bridges of Headley on 17 November (HL3184) and 7 December (HL2794), whether public engagement strategies are produced by electoral registration officers and made publicly available, and how the success of their work with local education institutions to increase voter registration is measured.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Electoral Commission’s guidance requires that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) produce a public engagement strategy. There is no requirement that these be made publicly available.As part of the performance standards framework, the Electoral Commission encourages EROs to monitor and adapt their public engagement strategy where needed to meet local challenges. Evaluation of the success of this work is carried out by EROs at a local level.

Elections: Fraud

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to produce a public response to the final report on electoral fraud submitted by the Electoral Commission in January 2014, including a response to the recommendation to introduce a system of voter identification.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Electoral Commission's report is an important contribution to the debate on electoral integrity. The Government is currently conducting its own review of electoral fraud, led by Sir Eric Pickles MP, which is considering arguments for and against different measures to improve electoral integrity, including those suggested by the Electoral Commission. Recommendations emerging from the review will be put to the Prime Minister in the New Year.

Department of Health

Down's Syndrome

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps will be taken to improve attitudes of hospital staff in NHS trusts towards patients with Down’s syndrome.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps will be taken to ensure that individuals with learning disabilities have access to good quality healthcare, in the light of reports by Mencap that there are 1,200 avoidable deaths of people with a learning disability in the NHS annually.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Government’s response to the recommendations in the report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry included a wide range of measures aimed at improving safety and quality as well as ensuring compassionate care for everyone who uses National Health Service services, including people with disabilities.NHS organisations should comply with existing legislation, frameworks and guidance aimed at ensuring they identify and meet the needs of people with learning disabilities in commissioning and delivering safe, high quality care to all individuals, groups and communities of their populations.From June 2016, the Department will publish independently assured, ratings of the quality of healthcare offered to people with learning disabilities in all clinical commissioning group areas, to highlight variations and to allow rapid action to be taken when improvement is needed.NHS England continues to work to improve access to good quality healthcare for people with learning disabilities, including:‒ improving identification of people with learning disabilities in health care records to ensure that reasonable adjustments can be made, communication needs addressed and crisis plans developed;‒ encouraging the use of health passports when people access services so that professionals and staff are aware of their needs;‒ improving identification on cancer screening information systems;‒ ensuring that people with learning disabilities are identified as a priority group to receive flu vaccinations;‒ improving access to NHS 111, Accident and Emergency and other services; and‒ increasing the number of people who are eligible getting an annual learning disability health check from their general practitioner.NHS England has also commissioned a learning disabilities Premature Mortality Review programme led by the University of Bristol from June 2015 to review and learn from deaths of people with a learning disability with the aim of improving services, care and support nationally.These initiatives will help to raise awareness and to tackle the inequalities experienced by those with learning disability, including where associated with Down’s syndrome.In addition, the Care Certificate, which was introduced in April 2015, is helping NHS service providers to ensure that their new healthcare assistants have the right fundamental skills and knowledge, including in communication and awareness of learning disability.Health Education England will work with healthcare providers to ensure that the continuing personal and professional development of staff continues beyond the end of formal training to enable staff to deliver safe and high quality healthcare and public health services both now and in the future.

Health Services: Learning Disability

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to ensure that Do Not Resuscitate orders are not assigned in the future to patients solely because they have Down’s syndrome or any other learning disability.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department expects National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts to have in place local policies on resuscitation that are based on expert professional guidance. We have commended, as a basis for local policies, professional guidance, Decisions relating to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (2014), published jointly by the British Medical Association, the Resuscitation Council (UK) and the Royal College of Nursing. The guidance is clear that any resuscitation decision must be free from any discrimination, tailored to the individual circumstances of the patient and fully documented. The use of a Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation decision solely on the basis that a patient has Down’s Syndrome is totally unacceptable.A copy of the guidance is attached.



Decisions Relating to CPR
(PDF Document, 601.78 KB)